"Rise Above The Numbers" by FP&HEY

Want to take your FP&A skills from one industry to another?

Tune in and learn how we went from manufacturing to SaaS.

Using universal FP&A skills that apply to virtually all industries.

🔥TIP: Here’s why FP&A is a career worth considering.

Show Notes

* 00:45 - Started in manufacturing, used that experience to do a SaaS IPO.

* 01:05 - Light bulbs, renewable energies, and printed materials…oh my!

* 01:59 - Manufacturing is raw materials, vendors, and labor.

* 03:12 - Don’t use your industry as an excuse to not apply for a job.

* 04:05 - SaaS has data centers and customer support teams, all tangible too.

* 05:30 - Whatever industry you’re in, find the tangible thing you can jump into.

* 06:15 - Find industries that you can get excited about.

* 08:10 - Sometimes products you use are in industries you’ll enjoy.

* 09:51 - We all like working on things we understand.

* 10:56 - Volume, mix, and price is a universal framework you can use 🔥

What is an FP&A Job Like in Manufacturing?

Manufacturing is where stuff if made.

The production floor in a plant is an amazing place:

Raw materials are stored and loaded on a production line

Production lines transform them into finished goods

Distribution areas pack and ship those finished goods to customers

Abandon your spreadsheet and put on your safety equipment.

Walking the production floor will teach you how your operations work.

Just ask the engineers and line workers, and they’ll literally show you.

And guess what?

A plant isn’t the only place with a production floor to walk.

What is an FP&A Job Like in SaaS?

Software as a Service (SaaS) is where we enter the cloud.

The cloud is a real place.

It’s where clippy still hangs out (we think).

The cloud is nothing more than a data center.

Blinking metal boxes (servers) and metal cages power the software you use right now.

And there are inputs in SaaS similar to manufacturing:

* Usage (users, customers, data being transferred)

* Support tickets

* Implementation (aka set-up)

Put your computer away and walk to your customer support person’s cube.

Seriously, watch how they operate.

Understand that they are your service in tangible form.

Also, check out your local data center if you have one.

And bring a jacket, the AC in those places keeps those servers cool.

FP&A Skills that Apply to All Industries

Every company in every industry is trying to do one thing.

Make money.

It’s how they keep the lights on.

Help them by:

* Growing revenue

* Managing expenses

* Monitoring cash flow

🔥TIP #1: Use volume, mix, and price analysis to understand revenue performance.

🔥TIP #2: Understand your company’s break-even point for cash flow management.

🔥TIP #3: Make your customers’ renewal process more profitable.

Conclusion: You Can Industry Hop via FP&A

FP&A is full of value-adding activities.

Learn a bunch of them, regardless of the industry you’re in.

Prove to a future employer you know your stuff.

And that you can apply it to a new industry.

Resources

▪️ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fpandhey

▪️ Email us your burning FP&A questions at info [at] fpandhey.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpandhey.substack.com